Flash and Snow
by Stand with Ward and Queen
Summary: Barry and Caitlin first met in the pilot after Barry woke up from his coma. But what if they had met earlier, before the accelerator blew up? What if?
1. First meeting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Flash.**

 **So, Hey. This has been an idea that's been in my head for a while now after I saw a video on Youtube but I haven't really been motivated to sit down and write it before now. I'm not sure how often I will update, it really depends on the response this gets. Either way, I figured I might as well get this out there so it stops clogging up my brain.**

Central City, Jitters, October 2012

morning

Barry Allen was in line, watching the TV. It was some news report about some billionaire found on a deserted island. Barry looks at the time and sees it's about time for him to leave for work so he turns and promptly bumps into someone. That someone was holding a coffee cup and stopped it, which was how Barry's shirt got ruined.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" The someone-an attractive Caucasian women around his age, maybe a little older, with dark brown, not quite brunette hair and hazel-green eyes.

"It's fine, really," Barry said, picking up a napkin from a nearby table and trying to clean up his shirt, "so, do you usually spill coffee on strangers, or am I special?"

"Like I said, I'm so sorry," the woman said, laughing slightly at his joke, "Is there anyway I could make this up to you?"

"Yeah, could you give me a lift to the police station? I kind of work there." Barry said.

"Sure! So you're a cop?" The woman said as they began to walk out of Jitters.

"CSI." Barry corrected.

"That must be interesting." The woman said as they reached her car.

"It can be, but not always. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Barry said, feeling embarrassed.

"Caitlin, Dr. Caitlin Snow. I'm a bio-engineer at Star Labs." Caitlin said as they got inside her car.

"Wow, and you thought my job was interesting. I'm Barry by the way, Barry Allen." Barry introduced himself as Caitlin drove towards the station.

Barry's lab, over a year later

night

Barry took off his jacket and pulled out his , he put it to his ear as he turned on a new feed.

"Hey, I thought you'd be here." Caitlin said, sounding a little miffed as she picked up and Barry winced.

"Right, sorry. Iris had her purse snatched and I ran after the guy. The doors were closed by the time we were done and I had to go give a police report on the whole thing." Barry said apologetically.

"Are you okay?" Caitlin asked, her voice softening and turning worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Say, can we meet up later? I'd like to ask you something." Barry said as he say the report on the accelerator.

"Why don't you just ask me now?" Caitlin asked confused.

"It's sort of an in-person question." Barry told her.

"Is it bad?" Caitlin asked as Barry pulled out a small, black box.

"Depends on your answer." Barry told her as he opened the box to reveal a ring.

"Okay, I'll see you later. I love you." Caitlin told him.

"I love you to Cait. Bye." Barry told her softly.

"Bye." Caitlin said as she hung up.

Barry hung up the phone and walked over to his wall of questions' as Iris called it. as he looked at it, he was drawn away by the news report. Even without the reporter telling him, he could tell something was wrong by the alarms in the background. Worry for Caitlin pierced his heart as he saw from his window what looked like an explosion at Star Labs. A wave of energy seemed to come from it and stretch to his lab to the rest of Central City. Barry walked over to some chains and began pulling on them when something that was hauntingly familiar happened: all the liquid in the room seemed to defy the laws of gravity and logic as it began to float into the air. hearing the roar of thunder, Barry looked up as lighting struck. It shattered the skylight and struck him in the chest before it all went black.

 **So, what do you guys think? Please leave any thoughts or comments you may have in a review, feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	2. Awakening

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Flash**.

Star Labs, nine months later

afternoon

Caitlin sat by Barry's bedside, watching her boyfriend's vitals. As usual, there didn't seem to be any change, Caitlin noted glumly. Caitlin nearly jumped as music began playing in the formerly quiet room. She turned her head and glared at Cisco, who simply shrugged.

"What, he likes this song? And he can hear everything, can't he?" Cisco said nonchalantly.

Caitlin opened her mouth to respond but didn't get the chance to. Barry suddenly shot up with a gasp, startling the two scientists.

"Where am I?" Barry asked immediately.

"You're in Star Labs." Cisco told him hopping to relax him.

"Star Labs? Who are you two?" Barry asked as he looked at Cisco and Caitlin.

Caitlin froze, hoping he was joking. But the lack of recognition on his face told the entire story and she felt her heart pierced with pain. Cisco jumped in once the shock wore off.

"I'm Cisco Ramon, this is Caitlin. Dr. Snow." Cisco said trying to sound like they had never met before.

"Wait what is happening?!" Barry jumped off the bed and walked away.

"You were struck by lightning dude." Cisco explained and Barry caught sight of himself on the screen.

"Lightning...gave me abs." Barry said incredulously.

"Your muscles should be disintegrated but instead they are in a constant state of cellular regeneration." Caitlin went into doctor mode, trying to distance herself from her emotions.

"You were in a coma." Cisco said and Barry turned to him stunned.

"For how long?" Barry demanded.

"Nine months," Barry whirled around to see Dr. Wells in a wheelchair,"Welcome back Mr. Allen. We have a lot to discuss."

Barry and Dr. Wells walked off and Caitlin collapsed into her chair. Cisco walked over to her and put a comforting hand on er shoulder as she burst into sobbing.

Central City Police Department

not long after

"Selective amnesia?" Joe asked as he talked to Cisco on the phone.

"Caitlin had a medical term for it but that's what I got between the crying. When the lightning hit him, it fried his brain, particularly the part the allows him to remember things. While somethings he can remember perfectly, other things are just gone. Like Caitlin and all of us at Star Labs." Cisco explained and Joe nodded.

"And is this...permanent?" Joe asked worriedly.

"No but it's iffy on how long this'll last. Could be two weeks, could be two years." Cisco told him and Joe nodded.

"How's Caitlin taking this?" Joe asked and Cisco sighed.

"Not well. At first she just cried but now she's just, Joe she's completely shut down." Cisco said worriedly.

Central City

later in the afternoon

Barry walked into Jitters, smiling at Iris and his foster sister rushed over and hugged him. As he hugged her back, Barry frowned in confusion. Something was off here: He had no racing pulse, no sweaty palms, he could breath just fine. Barry banished those thoughts as Iris pulled back.

"You're awake? Why didn't Star Labs tell us?" Iris demanded.

"I just woke up. and you know Dr. Snow?" Barry asked confused.

Iris, realizing something was wrong opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. a server near them dropped a trey full of drinks and something strange happened. It appeared to Barry as though it was falling in slow motion. It shattered as it hit the floor and Iris turned back to her co-worker, saying something to her but Barry was no longer paying attention to her. Why did that appear to fall in slow motion? Iris turned back and Barry flashed a forced smile, trying to pretend everything was fine as Iris said something about Joe.

Star Labs

same time

"You okay? Sorry, stupid question." Cisco apologized as he walked up to Caitlin in her lab.

"You know, I used top lay this game in my head," Caitlin said as she turned to Cisco with her tearful eyes, "What would I give up for one more minute with him? Well today I got that minute...and I wish I hadn't."

Cisco takes Caitlin into his arms, hoping to comfort her as she cries into his shoulder.

Central City Police Department

later in the afternoon

"You scared the hell out of us kid!" Joe said as he embraced Barry.

"Yeah, that was quite the nap you took Baby-Face. And you still look twelve." Another officer said and Barry laughed as Joe put a hand on his shoulder.

"You look okay, are you?" Joe asked trying to gauge Barry's reaction.

"Detective West," An officer cuts in before Barry could answer, "we've got a five-fifteen in progress at Gold City Bank, two dead. Storm's really picking up on the south side. Grab your rain gear."

"I'm sorry Barry, I gotta run." Joe said as he turned to leave.

"You need my help?" Barry offered.

"No, you take it easy. There'll be plenty for you to do once you settle in. Let's go partner!" Joe called over his shoulder.

Barry looked over, expecting to see Chyre but saw to his surprise Eddie Thawne putting on his uniform.

"Allen, glad you're back." Eddie said politely.

"Thanks Eddie." Barry said awkwardly.

"Hey Iris." Eddie said as he looked over at her.

"Detective Thawne. You should go, my dad doesn't like to be kept waiting." Iris said her voice full of disdain.

Eddie nodded and walked past them. As he did, something caught Barry's eye. He walked over, his heart sinking as he walked up to the memorial picture of Chyre. Iris walked up next to him, knowing what he was feeling.

"The night of the explosion, Clyde Mardon shot and killed Chyre," Iris explained and Barry made a sound of dismay, "Clyde and his brother died trying to escape, the plane crashed.

"Iris, got a minute?" An officer called Iris over.

As Iris walked away, two more officers walked in with someone in handcuffs. One of the officers said hi to Barry and he nodded politely with a smile when it happened again. Things seemed to move in slow motion as the man in handcuffs moved for one of the officers' guns. Barry seemed to move at superspeed and he was over to the man, slammed him onto a desk and back before anyone noticed what had happened. Wind blew through the station and papers flew off desks as the officers got the man off the desk and took him to his cell. Barry's heart hammered in his chest as Iris walked back over.

"You okay?" Iris asked worriedly.

"I-I'm fine," Barry stammered as his mind raced, "I just, I need some air. But I'll call you tonight, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, Barry turned and walked out of the station. Once he was sure he was alone, he lifted up his hands, which seemed to be vibrating at an impossible rate.

"What's happening to me?" Barry wondered.

As if by impulse, Barry ran but it was way faster than normal...or possible. Turning back to where he had just been, Barry thought for a moment before running back. But he tripped ended up slamming into the trunk of a cruiser, which shattered the glass. Scrambling back, Barry looked around to make sure he was still alone before grinning and taking off running.

It was exilerating. Moving faster than humanly possible, zooming past people and building. Barry was having the time of his life until he tripped over some bags and ended up in the back of a laundry truck.

"Awesome." Barry grinned as the worker looked confused.

 **So, what do you guys think? Please leave any thoughts or comments you may have in a review, feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	3. The Flash

**Disclaimer: I do not own Flash.**

Outside Central City

later in the afternoon

"Do you really think he can run that fast?" Caitlin asked Dr. Wells.

"I believe, like Barry, that anything is possible. Soon, you will as well." Dr. Wells promised.

"So how does it fit?" Cisco asked Barry as he came out of the trailer.

"It's a little snug." Barry said as he looked down at himself.

"At least you'll be running so fast that no one will see you. You see, you thought the world was slowing down but really, you were moving so fast it only looked like the rest of the world was standing still," Cisco explained as he and Barry walked over to the starting point, "Dr. Wells will be monitoring your energy output and Caitlin, your vitals."

"Then what are you gonna do?" Barry asked and Cisco smirked at him.

"I make the toys my man. check it," Cisco said as he pulled something out that looked like a lightning bolt, "this is a two-way headset with a camera I modified typically designed to combat battlefield impulse noise or, in your case, potential sonic booms. Which would be awesome."

Barry chuckled as Cisco handed it to him before walking off. Caitlin walked over with a tablet, checking his vitals while avoiding looking at him.

It was hard for her, to be so near him and yet so far. She could feel Barry's eyes boring a hole in her head and finally said something.

"What?" She snapped harsher than she intended.

"Nothing, it's just...I notice you don't smile too much." Barry noted.

"My once promising career in bio-engineering is over, my boss is in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, the explosion that put you in a coma also killed a close friend of mine and severally injured my boyfriend. So this blank expression kind of feels like the way to go." Caitlin snapped before storming back over to Dr. Wells.

"Mr. Allen, while I am eager to determine the true extent of your abilities, I caution you to show some restraint." Dr. Wells advised.

Barry nodded and turned to the open runway. Looking back over at them, he turned around before he took off running. A giant gust of wind was left in his wake and Cisco was thrown on his back. Caitlin stood in awe as Cisco sat back up, a grin on his face.

"It's not possible." Caitlin muttered, not seeing Dr. Wells grin.

Barry was running, faster than he thought possible when something happened. He started having a flashback to the night his mother died when he lost his footing. He tried and landed in some water containers and a pain shot through his arm. Dripping wet, Barry held his arm as he sat up.

Star Labs

later in the afternoon

"It looks like you a distal radius fracture." Caitlin said as she showed Barry an ex-ray on her tablet.

"Had?" Barry raised an eyebrow.

"It's healed...in three hours." Caitlin as she showed Barry the x-ray of his arm now.

"How is that possible?" Barry asked stunned.

"We don't know." Caitlin admitted.

"You really need to learn how to stop." Cisco chimed in.

"What happened out there? You were moving pretty well then something caused you to lose focus." Dr. Wells inquired.

"I started remembering something," Barry said and Caitlin held her breath, "when I was eleven my mother was murdered."

Caitlin tried not to show how this affected her. She turned away so Barry wouldn't see her broken expression. Cisco gently patted her arm as Barry told the story they all knew by now.

"What if the man in the lightning was like me?" Barry asked.

"Well, I think I can say unequivocally that you are one of a kind, Mr. Allen." Dr. Wells told him.

Barry gave a tight smile, this obviously not being what he wanted to hear. Barry stood up and walked out and Caitlin collapsed into the chair. Cisco put a comforting hand on her shoulder as Dr. Wells turned towards her.

"Caitlin," Dr. Wells turned towards her, "I know this is hard, but look at the bright side of all this: Barry is alive and he's awake. Even if he never gets his memories back, which I'm not saying he won't, you can always make new memories. He fell for you once, he'll fall for you again."

Central City

later in the afternoon

Barry and Iris walked on the sidewalk as she explained how she and Eddie began dating. Barry was only half listening, trying to figure himself out. Why wasn't he jealous? During their whole lives, he was jealous of a guy who Iris so much as smiled at suggestively but nothing with Eddie, what was going on?

"Dating your partner's daughter, isn't that against regulations?" Barry said as he zoned back into the conversation.

"Why are you so upset?" Iris asked, taking his silence for anger.

"I just don't like having to lie to your dad." Barry said before his attention was drawn by police sirens.

There was a chase going on mere feet from them. A cruisers was about to crash into them and Barry grabbed Iris and jumped out of the way, rolling away as the cruiser slammed into the side of a bush in a stone pot. The car drove away and Barry got a look at him. Knowing Iris was distracted, Barry stood up and sped after the car.

Barry sped up to the car and jumped through the window and into the car, ending up in the passenger seat. Clyde Mardon sneered at him before Barry grabbed the wheel and inadvertently caused the car to flip over. Barry got out of the car and saw Mardon walking away.

"Mardon!" Barry shouted and the criminal turned towards him.

Mardon raised his arms and he seemed to be covered in some sort of mist. it spread through out the area and spread to the car and the car started to light on fire. Acting fast, Barry sped away just before it exploded. Turning back, Barry saw Mardon was gone.

Later, Barry and Iris were watching as the paramedics led the victim away when Joe raced over to them.

"What the hell were you thinking, bring her out here!?" Joe whirled on Barry, "I told you, you get in danger, you run the other way! You're not a cop!"

"Because you wouldn't let me!" Iris protested.

"Joe, I need to talk to you. Now." Barry said when Joe started to protest.

Sighing, Joe led Barry over to a few feet away from Iris where they could talk.

"I know who did this. It's Clyde Mardon. I know everyone thinks he's dead, but he is alive. Something happened to him that night, I think he can control the weather. All the robberies happened during freak meteorological events. And when I confronted Mardon just now, the street was instantly covered in fog," Barry said as Joe gave him a disbelieving look, "Of course you won't believe me, you never believe me."

"Okay, you want to do this now, out here? Fine. Mardon is dead, there is no controlling the weather. And there was no lightning in your house that night, it was your brain helping a scared little boy accept what he saw.!" Joe shouted.

"My dad did not kill my mom." Barry said firmly.

"Yes he did! He killed her and I am sorry about that son but he is in prison where he belongs!" Joe said angrily.

"Dad, that's enough!" Iris said but Joe ignored her.

"Now, I have tried my best to take care of you since that night and I have never asked for anything in return. Not even a thank you, but what I do ask now is that for once, you see things as they are." Joe snapped.

Angry and hurt, Barry turned and walked off without a word to either Joe or Iris. Once he was far enough away, he took off running to Star Labs.

Star Labs

moments later

"I wasn't the only one affected by the particle accelerator, was I?!" Barry demanded as he stormed into the room.

"We don't know for sure." Dr. Wells said after exchanging a glance with Caitlin and Cisco.

"You said the city was safe, that there was no residual danger. But that's not true, so what really happened that night?!" Barry demanded.

"well, the accelerator went active," said as he pressed some buttons and a screen lit up with a diagram behind Barry, "we all felt like heroes and then it all went wrong. A dimensional barrier ruptured, unleashing unknown energy into our world. Anti-matter, dark energy, x-elements."

"Those are all theoretical." Barry interrupted.

"And how theoretical are you?" Dr. Wells pointed out and Barry quieted, "we mapped the dispersion at and around Central City but we had no way of knowing who was affected. We have been searching for other Metahumans like you."

"Metahumans?" Barry repeated.

"That's what we've been calling them." Caitlin explained.

"I saw one of them today. He's a bank robber and he can control the weather." Barry told them.

"This just keeps getting cooler." Cisco geeked out.

"this is not cool!" Barry snapped wiping the smile of Cisco's face, "A man died! Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did. From the storm cloud. He's still out there ,we have to stop him!"

"Barry," Dr. Wells called out as the speedster started to storm out, "that's the job for the police."

"I work for the police!" Barry snapped.

"As a forensic scientist." Dr. Wells reminded him.

"You're responsible for this. For him." Barry sneered.

"what's important is you! Not me. I lost everything. I lost my company, I lost my reputation, I lost my freedom. And then you broke your arm and it healed in three hours. Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world... Genetic therapies, vaccines, medicines, treasures buried deep within your cells and we cannot risk losing everything because you want to go out and play hero!" Dr. Wells snapped before softening, "You're not a hero, you're just a young man who was struck by lightning."

After a look over at Caitlin and Cisco, Barry turned around and raced raced out. Caitlin and Cisco looked over at Dr. Wells.

"Don't you think you were a little hard on him?" Caitlin asked.

"You have been in hell the last nine months because he was in a coma. Imagine what you would be feeling if he were to die. Because that is what you will feel if he continues this." Dr. Wells said curtly before he rolled out of the room.

That night, Barry sped back after his conversation with Oliver Queen. He met Caitlin and Cisco at Star Labs with two boxes of files he had gotten from CCPD.

"Over the last nine months, there's been a sharp increase in unexplained deaths and missing persons. Your Metahumans have been busy. I'm not blaming you, I know you didn't mean for any of this to happen. I know you all lost something that night," Barry said and Caitlin averted her eyes, "I need to stop Mardon and anyone else out there like him. But I can't do this without you."

"I might have something." Cisco said with a grin.

Cisco led them into a room and showed them a suit on a platform.

"It's designed to replace turnouts firefighters usually wear. I thought if Star Labs gave something back to the community, maybe people wouldn't be so angry at Dr. Wells anymore." Cisco explained.

"But how will this help me?" Barry interjected.

"It's made of reinforced tri-polymer. It's heat and abrasive resistant, so it should withstand you moving at high velocity speeds. And the Nero-dynamic design should help you stay in control. Plus, it has built in sensors, so we can monitor your vitals and stay in contact with you here." Cisco explained.

"Thanks. Now how do we find Mardon?" Barry asked.

"I retasked S.T.A.R. Labs satellite to track meteorological abnormalities over Central City. We just got a ping. Atmospheric pressure dropped 20 millibars in a matter of seconds. I've tracked it to a farm just west of the city." Caitlin explained.

Farm outside Central City

shortly after

Joe and Eddie had there backs against a car as Mardon unleashed a twister. A large piece of barn was about to slam down on them when a red blur jumped up and tackled it away. Joe watched in amazement as a red clad figure stood up after throwing the piece of barn aside and, after seeming to talk to himself for a few moments, moved at impossible speed towards the tornado. Joe watched, jaw on the ground, as the figure raced around the tornado. After several seconds, there seemed to be an explosion and the twister dispersed. Joe watched as the red figure stood up, unmasked but turned away so Joe couldn't see his face. Mardon had a gun at him and was about to shoot so Joe acted fast. He pulled out his gun and fires, hitting Mardon in the chest. As Joe raced over, Mardon went down and the red figure turned around.

Joe stopped as he and Barry stared at each other for a moment before they both fell to their knees in front of each other.

Iron Heights, next day

afternoon

"Nice to see you." Henry said as he sat down and picked up the phone..

"You to," Caitlin smiled slightly before frowning, "he's awake but...he doesn't remember. He doesn't remember me. I guess it's a good thing I moved back into my apartment to get away from the place, huh?"

"Will he ever remember?" Henry asked concerned.

"Yes but it could be a long time before he does. Either way, it doesn't matter," Caitlin said and Henry raised an eyebrow, "he fell in love with me once...he will again, memories or no memories."

 **So, what do you guys think? Please leave any thoughts or comments in a review, feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	4. Forgotten love

**Disclaimer: I do not own Flash.**

 **I'm sorry that it's been so long and that the chapter is so short. Next chapter will be longer, I promise.**

Central City

Morning

"You there yet?" Caitlin heard Cisco ask as she walked into the main room of Star Labs.

Startled, Cisco turned off the computers and whirled around, panic on his face. Caitlin had known Barry long enough to recognize that he was doing something he didn't want her to know about.

"Nothing!" Cisco cried immediately.

"Who are you talking to?" Caitlin asked suspiciously.

"No one. Cisco said nervously and Caitlin put it together.

"Are you talking to Barry?" She asked dangerously.

"Barry?" Cisco tried playing dumb.

"Barry Allen, my amnesic boyfriend. Struck by lightning, went into a coma, and woke up faster than the speed of sound. Ring a bell?" She asked her voice growing lower.

"Nope." Cisco denied.

"Cisco, there's fire everywhere! Cisco, are you still there!?" Barry's voice came over the speaker.

Caitlin was torn between worry for Barry and anger at his and Cisco's recklessness as she glared at her best friend. Cisco shifted nervously as Barry's voice came over the comms again.

"Cisco, everyone's out. What else do you have for me?" Barry asked.

Glaring at Cisco, Caitlin leaned down and spoke into the comms unit.

"Barry, this is Caitlin." She said frostily.

"Heeey Caitlin, how's your day going?" Barry asked in the nervous voice he always used when he knew he was in trouble with Caitlin.

"Get back to Star Labs, now." Caitlin snapped.

"Right, on my way." Barry said.

Once he was back, Caitlin stood in front of them as they looked down like two scolded little boys.

"Have you both lost your minds? Who do you think you are?!" Caitlin demanded.

"Well, I'm the eyes and ears, he's the feet." Cisco said before Caitlin glared at him.

"This isn't funny, you could have gotten yourself killed! You can't be running around like some supersonic fireman!" Caitlin snapped at Barry.

"Why not? This is what we talked about, me using my speed to do good." Barry protested.

"We talked about you helping us contain other people affected by the Particle Accelerator explosion, Metahumans. And since Clyde Mardon, there haven't been any!" Caitlin shouted.

"People in this city still need help. And I can help them." Barry argued.

"You talk to him." Caitlin pleaded as Wells wheeled in.

"I believe what Caitlin is saying, in her own spectacular angry way, is that we are just beginning to understand what your body is capable of. Not to sound like a broken record Mr. Allen, but I do caution restraint." Wells warned him.

"Dr. Wells, I doubt restraint is how you got to be the man you are today." Barry pointed out.

"In a wheelchair and a pariah. Lack of restraint is what made me these things. Know your limits." Wells advised before turning and wheeling off.

"Don't expect me to patch you up every time you break something." Caitlin said before storming off so he wouldn't see the tears of frustration and worry welling in her eyes.

 _Central City Police Department, 2 years ago_

 _Afternoon_

" _Caitlin." Barry said surprised as he walked into to his lab see his new friend there._

" _Hey Barry." Caitlin smiled shyly at him._

" _Hey, what are you doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you." Barry said quickly and she took a deep breath._

" _I'm not good at this stuff, so I'll just come out and say it: Will you go on a date with me?" Caitlin asked nervously._

"… _what?" Barry asked his brain not comprehending what she had said._

" _Would you like to go on a date with me?" Caitlin said slower. "It's okay if you don't, I don't expect-"_

" _I'd love to, what time do you want me to pick you up?" Barry interrupted her, throwing her for a second before she smiled._

" _I get off at six, so seven?" She asked._

" _Seven." Barry replied with a smile._

 **So, what do you guys think? Please leave any thoughts or comments you may have in a review, feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	5. Multiplex

**Disclaimer: I do not own Flash.**

 **There seems to be some confusion regarding last chapter, so let me clear that. The flashbacks are Caitlins, not Barry's. You will know when Barry remembers Caitlin, trust me.**

Star Labs

Afternoon

Barry Allen was not having a good day. After getting chewed out by Caitlin for using his powers to help people, he had been called by Joe to a crime scene. After thoroughly embarrassing himself, Joe, and the Captain, he had been dragged by Iris to Central City University for an award ceremony for Simon Stagg when a group of thugs crashed the ceremony. Barry had tried to run after them but had been stopped by the splitting migraines he had been getting, this one rendering him unconscious. To top it all off, he still didn't understand why he suddenly stopped having feelings for Iris or was so drawn to Caitlin, who was yelling at him again.

"You lied to us. How could you not tell us you are experiencing dizzy spells, we are your doctors? God knows what's going on inside your body; your cells are in a constant state of flux. You could be experiencing cardiopulmonary failure or a transient ischemic attack!" Caitlin shouted.

Barry looked cluelessly at Wells for answers.

"Mini stroke, probably not." Wells told him.

"You of all people should in science, we share. We don't keep secrets." Caitlin snapped before storming off.

"Haven't seen her that mad in a long time." Cisco noted happily.

"Who made her that mad?" Barry asked not sure why he was.

"Her boyfriend." Cisco said simply as he walked off.

"Her boyfriend, the one who got injured?" Barry asked Wells and the good doctor nodded.

"Like you Mr. Allen, he was put into a coma. His presence is…missed." Wells said as he wheeled off.

Later, Barry stood in a room with a treadmill that obviously had some…enhancements.

"Are you sure about this Cisco?" Barry asked as he looked over at the observatory.

"Most treadmills have a limit of twelve miles per hour, this one's been Ciscoed. It can handle your speed." Cisco assured him.

"Okay." Barry said uncertainly as he began running.

"Heart rate, nerve conduction, blood pressure, all normal." Caitlin said as she monitored Barry's vitals.

"For Barry." Wells noted.

"Brainwave function within normal limits." Caitlin observed.

"I told you the treadmill could take it." Cisco said gleefully.

"Caitlin, look at the Glucose levels." Wells ordered.

Caitlin did and her eyes widened as she saw them. She looked over at Wells and he nodded.

"Barry, we think we know why you keep," Barry flew off the treadmill and into the wall of boxes behind him, the contents bring spayed across the room, "passing out."

 _Central City, two years ago_

 _Night_

 _Barry entered the restaurant, out of breath. Looking around, he quickly spotted Caitlin and made his way over to the table._

" _Hey, sorry I'm late. The case ran late, I am so sorry." Barry said apologetically once he reached her._

" _Its fine, I only got her a couple minutes ago myself," Caitlin said and noticed him staring at her as he sat down, "What?"_

" _Nothing. It's just…you look really nice." Barry said as he looked at her._

" _You don't look so bad yourself. So, what do you say we order some drinks while we look at what they have here?" Caitlin said as she picked up the menu._

" _Sounds like a plan." Barry said as he picked up his own menu._

Star Labs

Night

Caitlin was startled out of her thoughts when Barry groaned as he came to. She and Cisco helped him sit up as he threw his legs over the side of the cot they had set him on.

"I passed out again?" Barry asked groggily.

"Total metabolic failure brought on by acute hypoglycemia." Caitlin told him, hiding her emotions behind her science.

"I'm not eating enough. So an IV bag and I'm good to go?" Barry asked.

Cisco pointed and Barry's jaw dropped at the sight of the empty IV bags.

"Try forty. I guess you were thirsty." Wells quipped as he took a drink of coffee.

"We're gonna need to fashion you a new diet based on your metabolic changes." Caitlin said as she walked off, no longer paying attention to the conversation.

"If we're talking Mexican, I recommend Tito's,' everyone froze as they looked up and saw Joe enter the room, "On Bruckner Avenue? Best burrito in the city."

"Detective West, what brings you here" Wells asked and Joe pointed at Barry.

"When I couldn't find you at your lab, I started doing a little research. Apparently, there's been reports of a red streak going around the city, stopping muggers and rescuing people from burning buildings." Joe told him.

"You didn't tell him we were working together." Wells realized.

"Joe, I can explain." Barry told him.

"You already have a job in law enforcement. I suggest you get back to it." Joe told him.

Caitlin made a sound of agreement and Joe shot her a look.

"Don't look at me; I'm on your side." She told him defensively.

"Detective, we all want what's best for Barry." Wells tried to play peacemaker.

"If you wanted what's best for Barry you'd try and talk him out of this lunacy instead of encouraging him." Joe said angrily.

"Joe, you saw a man control the weather. What are the police gonna do against someone like that?! Since the Accelerator explosion, we suspect there may be more like him." Barry explained.

"And you're gonna do what? Catch him? You think that because you can run real fast you're invincible? You're not, you're just a kid. My kid." Joe told him.

"I'm not your kid Joe and you're not my father." Barry paused, feeling guilty over the hurt look on Joe's face before pressing on. "My father is sitting in Iron Heights, wrongfully convicted. You were wrong about him and you're wrong about this. Now, I may not be able to help him, but if I can save someone from a burning building, I'm gonna do it! And you can't stop me! So don't try."

"You all think you're so smart. But you don't know what you don't know. I just hope you can all figure it out before someone gets killed." Joe said with a meaningful look towards Barry before storming off.

Barry sighed guiltily as Caitlin looked at him concerned before looking after Joe with the same look.

Central City Police Department, next day

Morning

"Come to yell at me again?" Barry asked as Joe walked into his lab.

"Simon Stagg's head of security was murdered last night," Joe said and Barry whipped his head towards him, "the coroner took some skin samples, see if you can find anything."

"'Kay," Barry said as he took the file and Joe started to walk off," Simon Stagg was attacked yesterday, can't be a coincidence."

"I'm on my way to interview him now." Joe said as he started to walk off.

"I'll come with you." Barry offered but Joe shot him a look.

"Your job is here, do it." Joe told him as she walked off just before Iris walked in.

"Why is my dad mad at you?" Iris asked.

"Work stuff, why are you mad at me?" Barry asked.

"You were supposed to meet me at Jitters last night to give me some science stuff for my article." She said and Barry's eyes widened.

"But I never showed up." Barry winced.

"Now I have to come up with a new topic or I fail the assignment." She snapped.

"Iris-"

"Don't. What is going on with you? Is this about Dr. Snow?" Iris asked carefully and Barry raised an eyebrow.

"No. Why would it be about Dr. Snow?" Barry asked confused and Caitlin's eyes widened, realizing he wasn't remembering yet.

"No reason. I need to go work on my article." Iris said panicking before running off.

"Iris!" Barry called out perplex as she all but sprinted from the room.

Later, Barry was walking down into the precinct when he noticed various officers in swat gear hurrying out.

"Captain, what's going on?" Barry asked as the Captain walked out in Swat gear.

"Not now Barry, an armed gunman's shooting up Stagg Industries." Singh said on his way out and Barry's blood ran cold as he realized-

"Joe's there." Barry muttered.

Barry ran (at normal speed) up to his lab and grabbed his suit before speeding off.

Central City

Same time

Flash sped into the building and saw three men, all looking exactly alike, aiming guns at Joe. Flash sped over, grabbed their guns, and raced over to Joe. Joe looked up as Flash dropped the guns.

"Go!" Flash ordered.

"No." Joe said stubbornly.

Not having the time for this, Flash grabbed Joe, sped him outside, and sped back in all in under five seconds.

"Whoever you are, give yourself up." Flash told the man.

"We're not going anywhere." The first man said.

"Until Simon Stagg is dead." The one to his left said.

Flash shrugged and sped over, knocking two of the men to the side, leaving the third one alone. However, Flash stared in shock of two more men seemed to split off from the third into existence. Flash overcome his shock and punched on the men; however to more seemed to pop out of him. Flash found himself surrounded and they beat him before throwing him into a pile of metal tine cans. Three of them pulled out guns and Flash sped away just before they fired on him. Outside, Barry leaned against a metal fence, shaken by what had just happened.

 **So, what do you think? Please leave any thoughts or comments you may have in a review, feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	6. Faith

**Disclaimer: I do not own Flash.**

Star Labs

Afternoon

"Ah." Barry winced as Caitlin cleaned up his face.

"Sorry. The abrasions are already healing." Caitlin said, fighting the instinct to run her hands over his face.

"I got my ass kicked." Barry said glumly.

"You got blood on my suit." Cisco said annoyed and Caitlin glared at him.

"If it's any consolation, I think some of it is his. Another not so friendly Metahuman" Barry said glumly.

"Danton Black," Wells said as he brought the picture up on the holographic screen, "a bio-geneticist who specialized in therapeutic cloning. Growing new organs to replace failing ones."

"Apparently, Simon Stagg stole his research and fired him." Caitlin explained.

"I saw Black create duplicates of himself from his own body." Barry announced.

"Well that's ironic. The guy specialized in cloning and now he can make Xeroxes of himself." Cisco pointed out.

"If he was experimenting on himself when the dark matter wave was released from the Particle Accelerator explosion-" Wells began.

"Meet Captain Clone," Cisco said and everyone shot him looks, "Don't worry, I'll come up with something cooler."

""Hey, where are you going?" Caitlin asked as Barry started walking out.

"Joe was right," Barry said as he turned around, "I may be fast but I am no warrior. I could barely stop one Metahuman, let alone six."

"Barry, I understand. Today was a setback, but any great enterprise has some. You can't learn to fly without crashing a few times." Wells told him.

"This wasn't a grand enterprise Dr. Wells. This was a mistake." Barry said before walking out.

"Caitlin," Wells said after a few moments, "I need you to go speak with Detective West."

Central City Police Department

Night

"Am I interrupting?" Caitlin asked as she walked in to see Joe talking to Simon Stagg.

"No, I was just leaving." Stagg said before brushing passed her.

"So, it's been what, eight months since you stepped foot in here? Why are you here? I assume it's not to talk to me." Joe said coolly and Caitlin sighed.

"Can we talk somewhere private?" Caitlin asked.

Joe nodded and led her over to his desk, where everyone one else was gone.

"Barry quit." Caitlin said bluntly and Joe blinked.

"That doesn't sound like him." Joe said and Caitlin smiled slightly.

"He's feeling kind of low because he got his ass kicked by Danton Black, the new Metahuman. He'll get over it, go back out there…and fail." Caitlin said and Joe raised his eyebrow.

"You have very little faith in him." Joe said and Caitlin glared.

"I have all the faith in the world in him. But I know him and he'll fail because he knows you don't believe in him. And because of that, he'll doubt himself. I know you're worried about him, you think I'm not? But he's gonna do this whether we want him to or not, the least we can do is support him." Caitlin told him and Joe looked thoughtful.

Her job done, Caitlin stood up and started to walk out. At the door, she paused before looking back at Joe.

"For the record, when he said you weren't his father…he didn't mean that." Caitlin said before walking out.

 _Central City, 2 years ago_

 _Night_

" _I had a great time tonight." Caitlin told Barry as they walked home that night._

" _Yeah, so did I." Barry said before suddenly they heard police sirens as a cruiser pulled up._

" _Both of you put your hand s up!" A voice over the broadcaster said._

 _While a panicked Caitlin did so, Barry rolled his eyes annoyed._

" _Very funny guys!" Barry snapped annoyed and the sirens turned off._

" _We thought so." Joe said laughing as he and his partner got out of the cruiser._

" _Well it's not." Barry snapped as Caitlin looked back and forth between Barry and the laughing cops._

" _Would someone please explain what's going on here?" Caitlin asked getting annoyed herself._

" _Caitlin, this Joe West, my former foster father, and his partner Fred Chyre. Guys, this is Caitlin Snow." Barry introduced._

" _Nice to meet you Caitlin. And just so you know, I know where you live." Joe said and Caitlin's eyes widened._

" _He's just joking." Barry assured her, shooting Joe a glare._

" _Or is he?" Chyre joked and this time even Barry and Caitlin cracked a smile._

" _Well, we gotta get back to patrol. We just saw you and thought we'd say hello. See at work tomorrow baby-face." Chyre said as they got in the car._

" _I'm not twelve anymore!" Barry shouted as the cruiser drove off._

" _Well, they seem nice." Caitlin mentioned._

" _They are. Usually." Barry sighed in embarrassment._

" _So, you're foster dad?" Caitlin asked carefully, not sure if she was over stepping._

" _When I was eleven…my mom died," Barry said, not wanting to get into the specifics are such a great night, "I was best friends with Joe's daughter Iris and they took me in since I had nowhere else to go."_

" _I'm sorry Barry. I know a little of what that feels like," Caitlin said and Barry looked over at her, "my dad died a few years ago, cancer."_

" _I'm sorry. We're quite the pair, aren't we Dr. Snow." Barry said dryly._

" _That we are, Mr. Allen." Caitlin said a slight smile on her face._

Jitters

Later

"You must have been hungry." Iris said as she walked over to Barry's table.

"Stress eating," Barry fibbed, "Hey, can we talk for a second?"

"Sure, what is it Bar?" Iris asked as she sat down at his table.

"Earlier today, you asked if I was being distant because of Caitlin…why would you think that." Barry asked curiously.

"While you were in a coma, she and I got to know each other. I told her some embarrassing stories about you and I thought you might be mad at me." Iris lied through her teeth.

"What stories?" Barry asked not sure he believed her.

"I need to get back to work." Iris said quickly jumping up.

As Barry stared after her, his phone rang. Pulling it out, he saw who it was and answered it.

"I told you, I'm done with this." Barry said into the phone.

"Barry, you need to get to Star Labs, now." Caitlin said in a panicked voice.

Without thinking about it, Barry sped out of the café.

Star Labs

Seconds later

Barry sped into Star Labs and was alarmed to see Black standing in front of Caitlin and Cisco.

"Barry, it's okay." Caitlin said as he sped over to Black.

"Now it's not! Black is here and he's…not moving," Barry noticed confused, "That's not him, is it?"

"It's one of his duplicates." Wells explained as Cisco and Caitlin shook their heads.

"How'd you get it?" Barry asked.

"I grew him." Caitlin said proudly.

"What?" Barry asked confused and Caitlin turned on one of the screens and it showed a black screen with a single purple dot.

"I isolated a sample of Black's blood from you suit to see if I could trigger the in vitro cultivation process and learn how Black multiplies," Caitlin explained as the dot was joined by many others on the screen, "So I exposed the target cells to a protein gel, and they began replicating into that.

"Why isn't he-it-doing anything?" Barry said as he waved a hand in front of the clone's face.

"We did a brain scan. In voluntary motor functions are active, little else." Wells explained.

"We think it's acting as a receiver." Cisco chimed in.

"The clones are an empty shell without Black. Shut down Black, and you might shut them all down." Caitlin explained.

"How do we know which ones the real Black?" Barry asked.

"That occurred to me given your own passing out. Black has limits, just like you. Controlling all of those clones must require a tremendous amount of physical strength. So, look for the one showing signs of weakness or fatigue. He's the prime." Caitlin explained.

"Just a theory, but one you might want to put to the test, Mr. Allen." Wells told him.

"Plus, I shipped up these high powered protein bars. They should keep your metabolism up." Cisco told Barry.

Barry smiled but it was short lived. Caitlin suddenly screamed as the clone suddenly came to life. Shots rang out and the clone went down. Everyone looked at the doorway to see Joe lower his gun.

"Any more of them?" Joe asked as he walked in.

"No." Wells told him.

"Why did it start moving?" Barry demanded.

"The prime. The prime is on the move. This one must be summoned to battle." Wells realized.

"And I think I know where. Stagg Industries." Joe told them.

"You need to call it in." Barry told him but Joe shook his head.

"I can't. What's Black's become; it's beyond me, just like Mardon. Maybe beyond them to. The only person it's not beyond is you. I get it now, you have to do this. So for once in your life, do what I tell you. Go stop him." Joe told Barry.

With a slight smile on his face, Barry nodded and walked over to his suit. Unseen by him, Caitlin and Joe exchanged a smile as Wells looked on, satisfied.

Stagg Industries

Later

Flash sped in and, seeing Black about to shoot Stagg, Flash sped over, grabbed Stagg, and sped him to safety.

"Stay here!" Flash ordered before speeding back to Black and his clones. "I know Stagg stole your research, but that doesn't give you the right to murder him."

In response, one of the Blacks fired at him. Using his speed, Flash dodged it and then sped over, knocking the shooter off his feet before speeding up the stairs. Looking around, Flash almost didn't hear a clone approach him.

"You think this is about my job?" The clone asked.

Flash sped over; knocking the gun out of his hand and slammed the clone against the wall.

"It's about my wife, Elizabeth." Another clone said as he approached before firing.

Flash sped away, taking the gun and running out of site.

"She had a degenerative coronary disease," Black said as he and his clones looked for the speedster, "she's been on the transplant list for years, but time was running out. If I couldn't get her a new heart-"

"You were gonna grow her one." Flash realized.

Sensing him behind him, Black turned and fired. Flash sped away and Black ended up killing one of his clones.

"I was so close! But then Stagg stole my search so he could reap the glory! I got to bury my best friend," Black said as he looked around for the Flash, "Now…I'm alone."

Flash sped over and slugged Black, sending him falling. Black got back up and created multiple clones of himself. Flash was quickly over whelmed and they restrained him as the speedster struggled to get free. Flash then sped away from them and out the door.

"Barry, you need to find the prime." Caitlin reminded him.

"There's too many of them to fight." Flash said.

"Barry, you need to isolate the prime." Wells told him.

"I can't, it's impossible." Flash protested.

"Nothing is impossible Barry, you taught me that. You can do this." Joe told him.

Flash turned around as Black and his clones rushed him. He raced through the army of clones, looking for Black. He reached the back and noticed Black at the end, sweating running down his face. He grabbed Black and raced upstairs, slamming him against a metal rod. He dropped Black, who had been rendered unconscious. Flash looked over the railing and sighed in relief as he saw that the clones were now all on the floor.

"Barry? Barry are you alright?" Joe called over the comms.

"Yeah, I'm fine…it's done." Flash announced.

Black then stood up and rushed towards the window. As the glass shattered upon impact, Flash sped towards him and grabbed is hand just before he fell to his death.

"Hang on!" Flash told him.

Glaring at him, Black duplicated his arms and the clone arms started to pry the speedster's hands of him.

"Don't." Flash pleaded but it was too late.

Once he was free, Black let go and fell to his death.

Star Labs

Later

"I tried to save him." Barry said glumly as he and the Star Labs team watched a news report on Black.

"Doesn't sound like he wanted to be saved. Some people, when they break…they can't be put back together again." Wells told him.

"Maybe." Barry said as he started to walk off.

"Well, at least Multiplex won't be able to hurt anyone anymore," Cisco said and Caitlin laughed as Barry looked at him amused, "told you I'd come up with a cool name."

"You know, I may be the one out there running, but when I'm in the suit, making a difference…you're all out there with me. I finally realized something: we were all struck by that lightning." Barry told them.

Caitlin smiled as he walked off. Then, her phone rang. Digging it out, she saw it was Iris and answered it.

"Iris, hey, what's up?" Caitlin asked.

"I messed up Cait." Iris told her and Caitlin frowned.

"What do you mean?" Caitlin asked confused.

"This morning, Barry was acting weird. I thought he might be remembering and was confused, so I asked him if it was about you. He wasn't, I told him some excuse about telling you some embarrassing stories about him but I don't think he believed me." Iris said apologetically and Caitlin's blood ran cold.

 **So, what do you think? Please leave any thoughts or comments you may have in a review, feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	7. Gas

**Disclaimer: I do not own Flash.**

Star Labs

Afternoon

"A Metahuman that can control poison gas. Fascinating." Wells mused.

"Is it just poison gas or can he control all aerated substances?" Cisco asked excitedly.

"And how is he able to formulate the connection? Is it physiological or psychological?" Caitlin pointed out.

"This individual can create a mental nexus using gasses substances." Wells explained.

"You mean merge with gases on a molecular level?" Cisco questioned and Wells nodded. "That is so cool!"

"They get really excited about this stuff." Barry explained to Joe who was staring blankly.

"Well, the only thing I'm excited about is stopping criminals. But Iron Heights isn't exactly equipped to handle Metahumans." Joe pointed out.

"Then I guess it's a good thing the two we've encountered so far are no longer with us." Wells pointed out.

"Well, unless you wanna execute every super criminal we come across, we need to find some place to hold them." Joe explained.

"A Metahuman prison…I think we might have a place here that can hold them." Cisco pointed out and Wells and Caitlin looked at him, Wells looking thoughtful while Caitlin looked alarmed.

"You can't be serious. We haven't been down there since…it's cordoned off." Caitlin said dismissively.

"Cisco's right. It can be modified to act as a make shift prison." Wells reasoned.

"What could?" Barry asked.

"The particle accelerator," Wells announced, looking over at Caitlin who seemed distracted, "Caitlin, did you hear me? We're going down into the accelerator ring."

"Actually, I could use Caitlin's help identifying the poison gas." Barry said, noticing she seemed distracted and she shot him a look of thanks.

"Okay." Wells relented.

"If that's alright with you." Barry said as he shot a look at Caitlin.

"Let's go." Caitlin said with a slight smile.

 _Central City, one year ago_

 _Day_

" _So how's the work on the accelerator going?" Barry asked as he and Caitlin sat across from each other in a bar._

" _It's going." Caitlin shrugged as he ate a fry._

"To tell you the truth, I almost considered working at Star Labs as a career choice at one point." Barry admitted and Caitlin nearly choked on the fry as she swallowed.

" _Really?" Caitlin asked surprised._

" _Yeah, but after what happened with my mom…being a CSI just felt like the right fit." Barry said and Caitlin nodded in understanding._

" _Hey Cait!"_

 _Two arms wrapped around Caitlin's shoulder and she groaned, annoyed as a man with dark hair peered down at her._

" _Ronnie I'm kind of in the middle of something." Caitlin said annoyed, although Barry noticed that it was also laced with affection._

" _I know, which is why I came over. I wanted to meet the guy who you're smitten with," Ronnie wrapped his arms from Caitlin and held a hand out to Barry, "Ronnie Raymond. I work with Caitlin. You hurt her; you have to answer to me."_

" _Don't plan on hurting her but good to know," Barry said as he shook Ronnie's hand, already liking the man, "Barry Allen."_

" _Nice to meet you Barry. I look forward to getting to know you," Ronnie said as he dropped Barry's hand, "well; I'll let you to get back to your date. See you at work Cait."  
_

" _He seems nice." Barry said once Ronnie was gone._

" _He is but he can be handful. I'm sorry about him." Caitlin sighed._

" _Well, wasn't how I wanted to be introduced to your friends." Barry shrugged and she laughed._

Central City Police Department

Later in the afternoon

It was like coming home for Caitlin to be in Barry's lab again after over a year. It was like a family reunion to see the CCPD again, but Joe had obviously briefed them on Barry's lack of memory, as they careful not to say anything in front of him. Although Caitlin is sure that Barry noticed how happy all the officers were to see her. However, in typical Barry fashion, he didn't comment on it. They were currently in his lab, waiting for the results of a toxicity test.

"Can I ask you something? That you do not have to answer." Barry said suddenly.

"My least favorite type of questions." Caitlin said dryly.

.

"Your boyfriend, the one in a coma…what's he like? You just...never talk about him." Barry noted and Caitlin tensed.

"He's a lot like you actually," Caitlin said as she looked away from him, "he's smart, not like me or Dr. Wells, but smart. He's a bit of a comic book geek. He has a very strong sense of right and wrong that doesn't have room for negotiation. If he sees something as right or wrong, very little will change his mind. He's also very stubborn. Trying to decide on a pizza topping was very difficult with him."

"You must miss him." Barry said sadly and she flashed a watery smile.

"Every day." She said, Barry not realizing how much that was true.

Suddenly, a paper printed off as the test was done. Caitlin picked it up and frowned, confusion on her face.

"This can't be right," Caitlin said as she walked over to him, "it says there was no gas, poisonous or otherwise, in his cells."

"Maybe it evaporated." Barry suggested.

"Wait, it says that there were two strands of DNA in his lungs!" Caitlin stared in shock.

"Wait, how did someone else's DNA get in his lung?" Barry asked confused.

"I don't know." Was a phase Caitlin didn't like using.

"Well, let's run it through the database." Barry said as they waited until it came back negative, "nothing.

"I don't understand. How can a chemical attack leave another person's DNA inside the victim?" Caitlin wondered and a thought occurred to Barry.

"What if the Metahuman we're looking for doesn't control gas? What if he becomes it?" Barry asked just as his police radio went off.

"Attention all units, we're receiving a call about a toxic gas attack at the Central City shopping mall.

"Barry," Caitlin called out warningly as he stood up, "we don't know enough about what we're facing yet."

When Barry still continued to go, she grabbed his arm and he turned around to look into her fear filled eyes.

"It's not safe." Caitlin begged.

"Caitlin, I have to." Barry said before speeding off.

"You better come back to me." Caitlin said to the empty room.

Central City Shopping Mall

Same time

Barry rushed in and, using his speed, sped over to the victim. She was obviously dead. Hating that he had gotten their too late, Barry looked around and spotted a small trail of gas going through a door. Scowling, Barry sped after it. He sped out and room and down an empty hallway as the gas materialized into a bald man.

"Why'd you kill that woman?" Barry demanded.

"She deserved to die," the man said as he turned around to face Barry, "now run along. I still have one more name on my lift. Don't make me add you to it."

Snarling, Barry sped over and punched him. To his shock, the man seemed to disperse into gas. The gas reformed behind him to a gas arm. The gas punched him and grabbed him as he gasped, the gas going inside him before disappearing, leaving Barry to die.

Star Labs

Same time

Dr. Wells and Cisco were worrying about Barry when he sped in, gasping for breath.

"I can't breathe." He gasped as he fell back.

Barry wasn't entirely sure what happened next, he just found himself on a bed, Cisco, Caitlin, and Wells standing around him, shouting at each other in loud, worried voices.

"The poison is still in me." Barry said in a gasping voice.

Dr. Wells said something that Barry couldn't comprehend and Caitlin said something about no anesthetic.

"I heal quick, remember." Barry said in a gasping voice.

The next thing Barry knew, Caitlin had jammed a syringe into his chest and his head rolled back as he gasped in pain before it all went black.

 **So, what do you guys think? Please leave any thoughts or comments you may have in a review, feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	8. The Mist

**Disclaimer: I do not own Flash.**

 **SO, I know some of you are probably a little confused on why there seemed to be an update but no chapter, so allow me to explain. There was a bug with the alert system that was not showing when stories were updated, some of you may have missed the previous chapter of this story as a matter of fact. I was testing it and then deleting the chapter if I did not get an alert. I apologize for the confusion.**

 _Star Labs, one year ago_

 _Afternoon_

" _Hey Cait, Ronnie says you have a boyfriend." Cisco told his best friend as she walked in._

" _Remind me to kill him." Caitlin grumbled as she rolled her eyes._

" _So tell me about him." Cisco said and Caitlin sighed before relenting._

" _His name's Barry Allen, he's a CSI for the CCPD. We met at Jitters and we've been on a total three dates. So I wouldn't call him my boyfriend." Caitlin said dismissively._

" _But you want him to be. IT's written all over your face!" Cisco said gleefully as she glared at him, blushing._

" _Invite him over."_

 _The two jumped and turned around to see Wells standing behind them._

" _God Dr. Wells, don't do that!" Cisco shouted as he attempted to calm his racing heart._

" _Apologies Cisco," Wells smiled before looking over at Caitlin, "Invite Mr. Allen over to Star Labs for lunch tomorrow. I look forward to getting to know him…"_

Star Labs

Night

Caitlin watched nervously as Barry opened his eyes, his vision coming into focus.

"The Streak lives." Cisco quipped.

"You'd be dead if your cells didn't regenerate so quickly." Caitlin said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"My chest feels like that one time I had a cigarette. Teen me lived for danger." Barry said as explanation, not knowing they already knew this.

"This isn't funny," Caitlin said, some of her true emotions leaking into her voice, "You could've-"

"I didn't." Barry cut her off firmly.

Caitlin opened and closed her mouth several times but no sound came out. As Wells said something, she turned, mumbling something about being a moment, before walking out of the room. She walked down the hallway before stopping, taking a moment to collect herself. Hearing someone behind her, she turned around to see Cisco standing there. The look on his face was too much and she burst into tears as he wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair in what he hoped was a soothing manner.

"It's okay Cait." He whispered.

"I almost lost him! Again!" Caitlin said, finally letting out months' worth of frustration, worry, and sadness.

"He's still here Cait." Cisco reminded her.

"No he's not," Caitlin said as she pulled back, wiping her tears, "that's not my Barry. He has no memory of me prior to waking up; I am little more than a stranger to him."

"Then tell him the truth." Cisco repeated what he had been telling her for the last few weeks but she shook her head.

"He'll think I'm crazy." Caitlin insisted.

"You have Joe and Iris to back you up. And a year's worth of photographic and video evidence. Come on Cait, he deserves to know the truth." Cisco tried to reason with her.

"It is hard enough seeing him every day, the way he looks at me…right through me; it breaks my heart every day. And I won't put myself through even more of it for someone who doesn't remember me." Caitlin said tearfully before turning on her heel and walking off.

Star Labs,

Later

Barry stared at Caitlin through the glass window before he entered the room. Barry sat down next to her and she looks up at him, her slightly red eyes letting him know she had been crying. Barry feels a little guilty but presses on.

"I'm sorry if I scared you when I took off like that." Barry told her.

"It's okay, I get it. You had to go. It's just," Caitlin sighed before continuing, "That's the last thing that Ronnie said to me."

"Ronnie, he was your boyfriend?" Barry questioned but Caitlin shook her head.

"No. He worked here at Star Labs as a structural engineer. He was a good friend. He died that night." Caitlin said sadly and Barry nodded.

"My mother died fourteen years ago," Barry said and Caitlin looked over at him, "I used to think the farther away I got from it, the less it would hurt. But some days, the pain…it's worse than the day it happened. Something things you just can't fight."

"Being down there…it just reminds me of everything I lost that night. Every time I try to go down there, I just freeze." Caitlin confessed.

"What if I went down there with you?" Barry suggested and she looked up at him.

Later, Barry and Caitlin were down in the pipeline, staring at the entrance. It was quiet for a minute before Caitlin spoke.

"Ronnie saved so many lives that day," she began, "and no one will ever know what he did."

"We'll know," Barry said as he walked up to her, "he was a hero."

Caitlin nodded tearfully and Barry walked over, wrapping her in his arms. Caitlin allowed herself a moment of weakness, burying her face in his shoulder and breathing in his scent, allowing the familiar feeling of being in his arms to calm her. Then the moment was ruined.

"Barry, Caitlin, you down there? I need you to get up here." Cisco's voice called out.

Caitlin baked away from Barry, giving him a small smile of thanks before they walk up to the main level and into the control room, where Cisco is waiting for them.

"Hey, check this out," Cisco gestured over to a digital screen where what looks like a molecular structure is on the screen, "it's a 3D model of the macular gas we retrieved from your lungs."

"We have identified the toxin." Wells added.

"Hydrogen cyanide?" Barry said as he looked at the screen.

"What's interesting is what's mixed in with the cyanide. A sedative." Wells explained and a lightbulb went off in Barry's head.

"Of course! The night of the explosion, find out if anyone was executed." Barry ordered.

"Why?" Wells asked as Caitlin went over to the computer.

"That Sedative is given to criminals when they go on death row before they go into the gas chamber and breathe in hydrogen cyanide." Barry explained.

"There was someone executed," Caitlin said as she found the information, "Kyle Nimbus."

"That's him." Barry said as she brought up Nimbus' picture.

"He was a hitman for the Darbinyan crime family. They turned on him and testified. Judge Theresa Howard was the judge at his sentencing. She sentenced him to death." Caitlin read his file.

"He must have been affected while being gassed." Wells noted.

"The records say his execution was completed." Cisco said confused.

"That's why there wasn't a match. The database only records the living," Barry realized as he turned back to them, "Nimbus said there was one more person on his list. Who caught him?"

"Barry…the lead detective." Caitlin said and Barry looked at the screen.

"Joe." Barry breathed as his blood ran cold.

Barry dug out his phone and dialed Joe's number. After Joe didn't pick up, he tried Eddie, who did pick up.

"Eddie, do you know where Joe is? He's not picking up." Barry said urgently.

"No, he didn't say." Eddie said though Barry picked up a little hesitation.

"Eddie, this is really important. I need to know where he is." Barry asked desperately.

"…he went to Iron Heights to visit your dad." Eddie finally admitted.

"Barry," As he hung up, Caitlin handed him a syringe with a red liquid, "I reverse-engineered an antidote to the toxin. I hope you won't need it."

"So do I." Barry muttered as he looked towards his suit.

Iron Heights

A little later

Barry sped in and saw Joe on the floor as his dad looked on in alarm. Speeding over to Jo, Barry injected the antidote into Joe. Barry looked over at his face, vibrating his face so he wouldn't recognize him before looking back to the now still Je, who looked at him weakly.

"Go get him." Joe said hoarsely.

Barry nodded before speeding off.

Outside Iron Heights

Same time

Barry sped in front of Nimbus, blacking his way. Nimbus smirked.

"You here to finish what the gas chamber started?" He asked mockingly.

"You're going somewhere you can't hurt anyone ever again." Barry told him.

"Wrong." Nimbus said before he turned into The Mist once more.

"You need to stay away from him Barry, do not breathe him in." Caitlin said over the comms.

As The Mist tried to wrap itself around him, Barry sped back, avoiding it at every turn.

"I'm not sure how that helps me guys." Barry said over the comms.

As The Mist reformed into Nimbus, Barry sped into him but he ran straight through him. Barry turned around and saw him already reforming.

"You can't fight him head on Barry. Just let him keeping coming at you, that should zap his strength." Caitlin advised.

"Gas is the least stable form of matter. He can't stay in his gas form for long; his particles will need to reform." Wells explained.

As Nimbus turned into The Mist once more, Barry took off at his highest speed. It pursued him as Barry ran a mile. Barry stopped and looked back as The Mist reformed into Nimbus. Nimbus wheezed before becoming The Mist again. It went after Barry, who took off running again. Another mile and Barry stopped as it surrounded him. Barry sped over to the side of the road as Nimbus was forced to take human form, breathing heavily. Seeing his chance, Barry sped over and slugged Nimbus, sending him on his back, letting out a groan.

"Barry?" Wells asked and Barry smiled as Nimbus passed out.

"We win." Barry said simply.

Star Labs

Later

"Hey, how's Joe?" Caitlin asked as Barry walked into the monitor rom, with just her left.

"He's fine, they wanna keep him for observation but he should be out by tomorrow," Barry said and Caitlin smiled, "so is the cell holding?"

"Yeah. Cisco says it should be hold him there," Caitlin said and Barry sighed in relief, "Barry…I wanna thank you. I thought if I went down there, that place that was a reminder of everything I'd lost…I would come undone. But I didn't, so thank you for giving me the push I needed to go down there."

"No problem Cait," Barry frowned as Caitlin frowned, "I'm sorry…I don't know why I called you that."

"It's fine…I like it," Caitlin said as her heart bloomed with hope that he would remember, "so, it's been a long day and I want some ice cream. You wanna come with?"

"…Sure, why not." Barry shrugged.

Caitlin smiled as they turned and walked out.

 **So, what do you think? Please leave any thoughts or comments, feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	9. Stop!

**I know it's been a while since I've updated. I've already gotten the next chapter partly written but I'm having a case of writer's block. But the main reason I'm writing this is to respond to a particular guest reviewer.**

 **This guest reviewer has left a guest review on three separate stories, asking the same thing: to update this one. To this guest, I am now talking right to you.**

 **At first, I appreciated the enthusiasm for this story. But it has grown to annoying to just pissing me off. I guess you think if you harass me enough, I'll have no choice but to update this to make you stop. But it's actually having the opposite effect, making me consider the future of this story. But if you are just going to post the same thing on every story every time I update a story that isn't this one, I have an ultimatum for you. You can either stop and let me update at my own pace or if not, I am considering taking this story down so I can get some peace. It's up to you. Choose wisely.**


	10. AN

**Dear readers,**

 **After some long thought on the fate of this story, I have decided I will not be continuing with it. This is not because of harassment because of a guest reviewer or anything like that, it is simply because I do not have the time or motivation to continue with this particular story. But, I figure I owe you notice as well as an ending, so here is a brief summary of how the story would have continued:**

 **Episodes 4-7 would have continued mostly the same except Barry would have picked up on the fact that they were all keeping things from him, as well as some developing feelings for Caitlin. When Barry got wammied, he would attack Joe, demanding to know what Joe was keeping from him. Oliver would fight him off and things would go the same except with Diggle in the place of Joe in the van with Wells. Episode nine would go mostly the same until the ending. At the party, Barry would spill some eggnog on Caitlin which would trigger a flashback to the day they met and Barry's memories of Caitlin and everyone at Star Labs would come rushing back.**

 **Barry would spend half of episode ten angry at everyone, especially Caitlin, over being kept in the dark. However, when Caitlin is kidnapped by Rory and Snart, He would let it go and they would resume their relationship. Episode eleven would happen mostly the same with little change. In episode twelve, Barry and Caitlin would go to the karaoke bar on an actual date in an attempt to get back in the swing of things. Episodes thirteen and fourteen would happen mostly the same except no Barry/Linda/Iris crap and Ronnie/Caitlin stuff. Episode fifteen would see Barry decide to do the over a year delayed proposal but would get caught up with Weather Wizard and then going back in time. In episode sixteen, he would again get interrupted by the realization about Wells/Thawne. Episodes seventeen and eighteen would happen mostly the same except Caitlin noting how tense Barry was and Caitlin being invited to the most awkward triple date in the history of the world.**

 **Episode nineteen would have some strain on Barry and Caitlin's relationship due to Wells. The kiss from every-Man would throw Caitlin this time because it felt weird to Caitlin before it was revealed to be Every-Man. In episode twenty, the tension between Barry and Catlin would no longer be there and the plan to trap Wells/Thawne to get him to confess would have Barry thinking about the future. This would lead Barry to finally propose and Caitlin would tearfully accept. Episode twenty-one would have Barry seek advice from Caitlin on how to handle Iris knowing and Caitlin telling off Iris over her treatment of Barry and Joe. Episode Twenty-two would happen mostly the same except Caitlin would about how Barry was acting unlike himself and would confide in Joe, which would lead to Joe and Barry's conversation though-out the episode. The season finale would see Barry be very tempted by Wells/Thawne's but he would realize the cons outweighed the benefits and not wanting to lose Caitlin or anyone else he loved as a possible side-effect, he would turn it down. Wells/Thawne would be placed in a secure Argus holding facility and the story would end with Caitlin and Barry finally getting married with Joe and Cisco acting as best men and Stein officiating.**

 **And that is a basically how the story would have ended.**


End file.
